Friday, August 26, 2005

"A friend who leapt to his death" - Shuntaro Tanikawa

"He leapt from the 9th floor, bounced off the 6th floor terrace, slammed into the 3rd floor eaves, and fell in the bushes on the ground, his cheeks and shins all scraped up. He took the elevator back up to the 9th And re-read his half-page suicide note, Which contained three misused prepositions That he now corrected. Then he ran up to the 16th floor and once again jumped.At the 12th floor level he sprouted wings; a 10th floor wind took him in tow and lifted him to circle the night sky, slowly."

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

"You're so silly"

"You're so silly sometimes Last night you squeaked like rusty hinges when I said that I called for no other reason than to breathe your voice You're so silly that I want to kiss and lick and suck the peaches of your mouth the plum of your chin the papaya of your neck the two tiny raisins on your chest the wrinkled pips of your belly-button and then move on south to the wild orchards of those not-so-silly placesYou're so silly that I want to spend insane hours with you blowing across your plains and your valleysI want to spoil you silly but don't worry I know how you retreat like mimosa when I do it in front of other people because you're funny that wayAnd when we're together I have to remind myself that you like to be the forbidden castle sometimesshut out from the world by moats teeming with crocodileseven though next to youjust two skins away is a woman who thinks that you’re her bridgeto the clouds and the moon on a journey filled with sweet little sillinesses And that's when I think that you're not just being silly but plain stupid"

Saturday, August 06, 2005

"True love" - Wislawa Szymborska

"True love. Is it normal, is it serious, is it practical? What does the world get from two people who exist in a world of their own?

Placed on the same pedestal for no good reason, drawn randomly from millions but convinced it had to happen this way - in reward for what? For nothing. The light descends from nowhere. Why on these two and not on others? Doesn't this outrage justice? Yes it does. Doesn't it disrupt our painstakingly erected principles, and cast the moral from the peak? Yes on both accounts.

Look at the happy couple. Couldn't they at least try to hide it, fake a little depression for their friends' sake? Listen to them laughing - its an insult. The language they use - deceptively clear. And their little celebrations, rituals, the elaborate mutual routines - it's obviously a plot behind the human race's back!

It's hard even to guess how far things might go if people start to follow their example. What could religion and poetry count on? What would be remembered? What renounced? Who'd want to stay within bounds?

True love. Is it really necessary? Tact and common sense tell us to pass over it in silence, like a scandal in Life's highest circles. Perfectly good children are born without its help. It couldn't populate the planet in a million years, it comes along so rarely.

Let the people who never find true love keep saying that there's no such thing.

About Me

I am optimistic and sentimental to the point of being annoying, especially to people who think that being cynical and cold is cool. Everyday, I thank Allah for everyday things like the ability to breathe, the ability to love, the ability to laugh, and the ability to eat and drink.